In the DMZ separating North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers have been killed, supposedly by one South Korean soldier. But the 11 bullets found in the bodies, together with the 5 remaining bullets in the assassin... more &raquo's magazine clip, amount to 16 bullets for a gun that should normally hold 15 bullets. The investigating Swiss/Swedish team from the neutral countries overseeing the DMZ suspects that another, unknown party was involved - all of which points to some sort of cover up. The truth is much simpler and much more tragic.&laquo less

Movie Reviews

Logical, wistful, naďve

J. A. Eyon | Seattle - USA | 04/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A highly-logical and well-laid-out Cold-War whodunnit (there's still a Cold-War on the Korean Pennisula) with in-depth characterizations in the way the Koreans like... well... except for the stereotypical militarists who are the real villains of the story. There are some good actors -- especially the small group at the center of the story (special mention should go to the charismatic Song Kang-Ho [Memories of Murder] as the North Korean sargent). And, as is typical with Korean films, nice color photography but this time with a lot of tricky night scenes.

Also pleasing to watch is the stunningly beautiful Lee Young-Ae as the half-Korean Swiss officer heading the Swedish-Swiss investigation of the killings at a North Korean guardhouse by a South Korean soldier. Her character comes across as smart and determined. And she makes Korean sound like the most beautiful language in the world.

For the other Swiss-Swedish team members, I was relieved that they imported genuine European actors -- as opposed to using amateurs.

Like other South Korean films I've seen, this exhibits a wistfulness for renunification despite the ongoing tension. The outlook behind the story may be naïve (ie, 'it's simple distrust that divides us' -- whereas an insightful story would analyze the history, politics and personalities behind the situation) but the story itself will probably work whatever your perspective."